If you're here to learn how to sell jewelry online, you've come to the right place.

Well, like all online business it's not all that simple. However, the jewelry business does have some appetizing advantages, and it all starts with the insane markups.

Jewelry has been known to yield profit margins of around 25 to 75%, much of which has to do with the perceived value of the jewelry.

And this is one of the main reasons jewelry is such a great niche to get into. It's not like the electronics segment where everyone knows exactly, what a certain model of laptop should be selling for. A consumer has no way to determine the exact price tag on a necklace (besides estimating what a stone is worth).

So, most of the time it has to do with whether or not the customer thinks it's pretty or not. And that opens up all sorts of opportunities for the vendor.

Now, I'm going to explain the benefits of selling jewelry online, and also walk you through the exact process of finding suppliers, thinking about dropshipping, building a store, and marketing that store.

Why Should You Buy and Sell Jewelry Online?

I already talked about how people buy tons of jewelry on a daily basis. I also delved into how profit margins are really up to the company making the sales.

But what are some other advantages of selling jewelry online?

Jewelry is small and easy to ship. Not only that, but there's a small chance that anything breaks when you ship it out.

Jewelry is insanely diverse, allowing for a wide selection of options in your online store. For instance, there are hundreds of options like gold, gemstones, and shells, along with types of necklaces, anklets, and rings. You can choose to focus on one of these categories or create a large store with everything.

Customization is an option. Sellers can create their own custom jewelry and make even more money by taking requests from customers.

You have plenty of sourcing options available.

Finally, people like to buy and sell jewelry online. It's a thriving marketplace of people sharing their past heirlooms and hoping to find their next favorite gem.

Jewelry is a hobby similar to biking, where the passion behind the jewelry fuels the industry.

Now that we've outlined the reasons to dive in, keep reading to learn about how to sell jewelry online.

Step 1: Finding Suppliers/Dropshippers for Your Jewelry Store

The first order of business is to figure out where you're going to source the jewelry from. Take a look at your niche (like gemstone necklaces or fine earrings) and take that into consideration when looking for your suppliers.

You have two options to consider for your sourcing process: Wholesale or dropshipping.

Buying wholesale means that you'll purchase larger quantities of the jewelry and store them at a location of your choosing. This is the traditional way of conducting business, and it comes with its pros and cons:

Pros

You maintain more control over quality since you can touch and examine the jewelry.

You can ship faster and package the jewelry how you want.

Since jewelry is so small, this approach often results in minimal storage costs (Like if you stored the inventory in your garage or basement).

Cons

Buying wholesale is often more expensive because of storage, shipping, and packaging.

You're stuck buying large amounts of inventory. Therefore, you might be stuck with unsold merchandise.

More work is required on your end. Think about shipping and packaging.

On the other hand, you could go with dropshipping, which means that you partner with a dropshipping supplier who handles all aspects of packaging, storing, and shipping your jewelry. Your main responsibility is to manage your website, market, and handle customer support.

Pros

Dropshipping is typically far less expensive in the long run.

Most of the tedious shipping and packaging work is done by the supplier.

You don't have to worry about filling up your garage or seeking out expensive warehouse space.

Cons

You lose control over the shipping process. It may take a long time for your customers to receive items.

You don't get to vet the products before they get sent out.

Customer service gets tricky since you're not the one accepting returns or shipping out the products.

When you shop wholesale you open up all sorts of opportunities for finding suppliers. In fact, most jewelry producers will at least entertain the idea of providing you with a wholesale discount. For instance, Azeera, the custom jewelry company, has partnered with online stores to provide beautiful jewelry at wholesale prices.

You can also reach out to local manufacturers since you can adjust the margins to make up for higher costs and take control of shipping times by using closer manufacturers.

Since most of you will have different niches, it's best to search for wholesale jewelry online and see what comes up. For instance, a quick search brings up Fashion Bella and Rose Wholesale, both of which have wide selections and interesting categories.

You can also contact a supplier on AliExpress or Alibaba. This typically means you'll partner with a Chinese supplier, but there are plenty of reputable options to choose from.

Keep in mind that Alibaba is suited for wholesale and AliExpress is better for dropshipping.

When it comes to financial health and compliance, this requires research. You can typically find information on supplier websites, press releases, or by asking other people who have worked with the companies.

Finding a point person ties into that first conversation you have on the phone. Make sure you consistently ask who your point person is going to be.

Trust me on this one: it will turn that first conversation into a fruitful conversion.

Understanding the quality of your products can only be done by asking for samples. If a supplier doesn't offer samples, look elsewhere.

After all, there are literally plenty more fish in the sea. Yep, I'm talking about oysters and pearls.

Counterfeiting also ties into the quality:

Brand-name jewelry like Tiffany Co. and Gucci have their fair share of counterfeiters. It can be fun to visit China on vacation and haggle for some counterfeit Bvlgari earrings, but your customers won't appreciate it if they pay top dollar for counterfeit jewelry, only to discover it's not the real deal.

The conclusion is that selling discounted counterfeit jewelry is not a good idea since you'll probably be caught and shut down.

Step 3: Building a Reputable Online Store to Buy and Sell Jewelry

Jewelry stores look similar to other online stores except there's usually less clutter blocking the user from the product pages.

People want to see the jewelry right away, and the pricing and descriptions as well.

That's why places like Shopify and Bigcommerce have specific templates designed just for jewelry stores.

And that also explains their huge success.

After selecting a theme designated for the jewelry world, you want to ensure that you have a mobile responsive store, along with marketing tools and a wonderful product management area.

Finally, trust seals from PayPal, Shopify, and the BBB are nice, but when you partner with a well-known jewelry supplier (like Tiffany and Co.) it's essential that you show your customers that you're an authorized dealer.

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